The first undersea fibre optic cable, Seacom, reached the east African coast in July 2009. This “Digital Express” is the most important infrastructure investment in eastern Africa since the construction of the Uganda Railway which integrate colonial east Africa into the British Empire. Unlike the railway, dubbed the “Lunatic Express” by its critics, the Seacom network will integrate the region with the rest of the world and provide a crucial gateway to the global knowledge economy. The $700m (£426m) project – largely funded by African investors – will reduce business costs, create an e-commerce sector and open up the region to foreign direct investment. New industries will emerge to create content and software, new markets for access devices will grow, and research centres will flourish. Its impact will be unparalleled in contemporary African economic history. The closest comparison is Africa’s runaway adoption of mobile telephony but at scale previously unimaginable.
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Mobile boom fuels health work in developing countries
Published April 25, 2010 Technology Leave a Comment
The explosion of mobile use in developing countries is helping transform health care. Groups such as DataDyne use mobiles to collect and share vital data on health and disease is collected. The organisation produces EpiSurveyor, which health workers use to gather information about vaccination rates and instances of HIV.
